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Dew

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Posts posted by Dew

  1. So I have a project I've been working on recently that I'm not sure how to tag. It's essentially a remix of someone else's remix (a doujin artist specifically). I want my tagging to reflect that I borrowed heavily from the doujin artist's arrangement without implying collaboration. I considered doing "Me vs. %Artist% - %Title% (%Version%)", but to me the "vs." implies the collaboration of the other party. If anyone has suggestions they would be appreciated!

  2. https://soundcloud.com/dew-2/golden-sun-felixs-battle-theme/s-2UMz1

    Continuing on mixing feedback I received on this song in this thread, I've been working on another track. This uses the same mixer inserts from my last song, and I've spent a bit of time trying to improve some of my issues that were touched upon by other posters.

    In particular, I've made some reductions around 6kHz-7kHz (not sure if this is the right area, but it's what sounded best after experimentation), turned off some mics on my kick VST that I decided were probably unneeded, and fiddled with the EQ on the kick and bass to try and eliminate some overlap. I believe the kick is a bit more distinct now, possibly less muddy?

    Would greatly appreciate any additional mixing feedback.

  3. I agree. :| Gotta get that fixed. Also, the kick and bass are really muddy. I can barely hear the kick and the bass is quite boomy. The snare is a little buried too.

    Thanks for the feedback, my mixing is always something I'm looking to improve. I'm self-taught, so pardon me if some of my questions seem a little silly:

    Regarding the feedback you and others have posted on the upper mids being too earsplitting, what frequency range should I be looking at? I'm not hearing anything extraordinary, but I'm not anywhere near a point where I trust my own ears, so I'm glad to have this stuff pointed out to me.

    Also, on my faster songs I tend to get similar feedback about the kick being muddy, but I really don't know where to start with this. Would you say it's kind of just slurring together with the bass? Or is it not pronounced enough in general?

  4. Original:

    Remix: http://dew-owns-it.com/oops/Dew%20-%20Infidel.mp3

    Pretty much complete but tagged as WIP since I'm looking for feedback before I call it finished.

    Heavily inspired by Saitama Saishuu Heiki.

    In particular, I'm told the ending doesn't work. I was kind of trying to it ease it out but maybe it just ended up being weak for no reason... I welcome anyone's opinion on whether it works or doesn't, in addition to any other gripes, no matter how minor.

  5. http://dew-owns-it.com/oops/Dew%20-%20Neon%20Gearbox.mp3

    This one started out as a stage theme and ended up being a full song.

    I actually worked my ass off on this one, on things like making it seem more coherent instead of just slapping down whatever came to mind and sounded right. Also I worked pretty damn hard on the mixing. Not that I usually don't, but I wanted this one to be my best so far.

    I'm told that it's close to being over-compressed, but not too bad. I'm also told that the transition after the end of the solo (around 3:12) is kinda jarring, and that the ending is too sudden/isn't dynamic enough or something. I'm looking for ways to make it better so any and all opinions/suggestions are welcome.

  6. Hey, just wondering if I could possibly get my nick changed back to "Dew" instead of "Dew.".

    http://ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=12085

    This account was an alt account of somebody's used for UnMod shenanigans back in the day. I'd changed my name for some reason, and came into possession of the alt account's password, so I decided to change the password and later on ended up using it as a placeholder for my own account name. Farther down the road, the original user of the alt account got banned, and the alt account was banned as well, therefore I wasn't able to log back into it and get my name back.

    At least I think something like that happened, it's been six years since then. In any case, that other account is me, I somehow glazed over this thread for the longest time, and it'd rule to have my name back to normal after all these years.

  7. I'm trying to get a track off of an .iso for Dungeon Master II: Skullkeep on the Sega CD. Namely the theme for the last boss, which I remember hearing as a kid when I loaded the actual physical CD in player mode on the system. That CD and the system, however, are both in a box somewhere in my parents' basement two states away. I figured I could just take this .iso and play it the same way I would an audio CD, but none of my media players recognize it, and the audio isn't visible when exploring the disc. I've read that a mac recognizes it as two discs, one audio and one data, but I can't confirm this. Also, I tried running both GENS and Fusion in CD player mode, but for some reason that doesn't produce any sound. I see the dB meters moving for the left and right channels, but I don't hear anything. The game itself plays fine and has music.

    Is there anyone here with better knowledge of how this works?

    Sorry for asking about ROMs and whatnot, but I own the game in question, I simply don't have access to it at the moment.

  8. Uh huh. Using deductive absolutes like that kinda requires some substantive data to become anything worthy of anyone's consideration. And your conclusion doesn't follow in the least from your premise, were it even true. Not knowing how to use something well suddenly evaporates one's need to use it? I'm no good with cars, but I sure as shit need mine. I won't be returning it to the dealer anytime soon because I don't know what the hell's going on under the hood. Likewise, I could imagine pirates or purchasers alike who want to learn a DAW they know nothing about wouldn't cease working with it simply because they don't understand how every nuance functions, nor does their incomprehension necessarily portend their means of obtaining the DAW or their commitment to it.

    I've read so many of your posts, and every time I do, the same aphorism beats in my mind: think before you speak.

    This is precisely what I was thinking. Thank you for articulating this.

  9. Your skilled vs. unskilled argument is really tiring. I'll accept your stance on the moral implications of piracy, but whether someone has the skills to properly use a program is completely irrelevant and just a tool you're using to place yourself on a pedestal above others with differing values.

  10. I'm aware of the iLok system. One's currently plugged into the back of my desktop, since back in 2009 I bought Ministry of Rock and used it extensively before I discovered Shreddage. My income was a bit more expendable at the time. I still use it for my bass and lead guitar.

  11. It would be unreasonable for someone to say they can just steal Magic: The Gathering cards because they're not professional MTG players. Obviously, the vast majority of people who create music are not pros. But the companies that make musical instruments would not be able to sustain their businesses if it were not for this large hobbyist market. Take it from me - Impact Soundworks sells a lot of libraries to hobbyists as well as pros.

    There is such an abundance of excellent free and low-cost software that there really isn't any justification for pirating it.

    Sure, but that's why I have Shreddage: because it's a good library and it doesn't cost $400. If I build a MTG deck buying cards individually, it certainly isn't going to run me anywhere near $400. (EDIT: Not to mention that I could just buy Magic Workstation and play anyone over the internet and never have to bother with physical cards at all.)

    It might be worth noting that if I weren't pirating Kontakt, Impact Soundworks wouldn't have my money, either.

    For the record, I don't pirate PC games. Why? Because I can afford them. It's ignorant to just say, "Oh, well anyone can just save up money, you're just a LAZY THIEF." I'd be ecstatic if I could just throw that kind of money around. Maybe if I didn't spend any money on gaming for half a year I could save $400 to drop on Kontakt. That isn't worth it to me, though, so I pirate.

    Press 2 the same time you open the piano roll. It's 27 milliseconds worth of effort.

    ...that I don't have to expend if I just keep using FL9. Which I paid for. So I don't know why you're bothering with this.

    If you love something and you're passionate about it you would sacrifice for it. If you don't love it and you're not passionate about it, you don't deserve the same stuff that people who do love it sacrifice for.

    I'll say it again; you don't deserve it. And developing skills doesn't come from buying software. It comes from using it. It doesn't matter if you buy Cubase or download REAPER, you don't have to spend any money developing skills because software does not teach you anything.

    The only reason to buy software is to "upgrade" your sound when you find that your current stuff is too limiting. If you pirate it, you obviously don't love it enough to sacrifice for it, which also probably means that you don't have the skills for it.

    Well I don't really love it all that much so I guess... you're right? Also I'm pretty sure skill isn't a requirement to use Kontakt. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to load up a Shreddage multi.

  12. The music I write for myself is just a hobby of mine. When I go into a studio to work on music that pays my bills, they have their own hardware+software setups that I use. I've invested well over $15,000 into my home studio and it's still primarily used for my hobby.

    How fortunate for you, then, that your chosen hobby and your source of income are one and the same.

    I, however, could never justify spending that kind of money developing skills that aren't quite so valuable to me.

  13. How do you like 9 but not like 10? 10 is 9 with more features...

    100% of the reason why I don't like 10 is because every time you close and open the piano roll, it defaults to zoom level 4 instead of zoom level 2.

    This drives me absolutely fucking insane and is pretty much the sole reason why I still use 9. I'll gladly switch to 10 as soon as I find a way to fix this.

    Also, if you say "I don't feel like spending money on FL10" I am going to fall out of my chair laughing.

    How wonderful of you to just assume I'm an idiot. Thanks so much.

  14. As for the noob argument: if you're too much of a noob to pay for music software, then you're definitely too much of a noob to get anything more from the pay software than you would from the free stuff. It's no excuse to be pirating. Get a job, stop buying useless shit for your phone and girlfriend who will break up with you in a few months anyway, and invest in your craft.

    I disagree. Rather, being a noob is EVERY excuse to be pirating.

    I write music as a hobby and nothing more. I don't make any money off of what I create, and I never intend to. I have no musical training and probably never will. I also don't plan to spend the time or effort to learn an instrument. Therefore, everything I use consists of samples, synths, and VSTs.

    The only software I have that I've bothered paying for is FL Studio, which I don't plan to upgrade because I dislike FL10. The only library I have that I've bothered paying for is Shreddage X, because it was affordable. The odds that I'll ever end up paying for Kontakt or any of the other software I use are next to none.

    It literally takes me 10 minutes to download a new toy at zero expense or personal risk to myself for what amounts to just another way to kill time. It also results in zero loss to the software publisher, since I would never buy their product anyway. In fact, in the case of FL Studio, it won them a new customer, since I never would have bought it if I hadn't pirated and learned to use it in the first place.

    Tell me why I shouldn't pirate.

  15. source:

    mix:

    http://dew-owns-it.com/oops/dedede2.mp3

    DAW: FL Studio 9

    Rhythm: Shreddage with GR4 and FL Hardcore

    Lead+Bass: Ministry of Rock

    Percussion: DFH

    Synths: Sytrus

    Lacks an intro and isn't finished yet.

    I'm having some serious problems getting this to sound the way I want it to. I'm pretty sure it's over-compressed to hell and back, but I honestly don't know how to achieve the sound I'm looking for otherwise.

    I think it probably sounds fine when I've got just the rhythm, bass, and drums, but as I start adding other instruments, things get muddy and start sounding bad. The kick drum gets totally drowned out unless I boost the hell out of it, which generally makes it sound even worse in the process.

    To be clear, I really don't have much of an idea of how I should be applying my compression. Finding reading material on how to mix drums for dance and electronic music is easy, and I know it's not exactly a precise science, but none of that seems to help my music sound any better. Right now after long, extensive, and completely blind trial and error, I have the following:

    - Ozone with a "Tighter Low End" preset on my kick (cause someone told me Ozone was this awesome thing I should use).

    - A TranShaper on my kick (again, cause some thing on the internet told me I should use one. I have no idea what it actually does!)

    - All of my percussion inserts feed into an insert with a Vintage Warmer that has some other preset a random tutorial told me to use.

    - A Maximus on the master insert with the "Max Loudness" preset, because it seems to make everything brighter, prettier, fuller, and less muffled. I have no idea how this actually works, either.

    What I do know is that the way I have things set up right now, it sounds bad. I also know that, although I have no idea how the tools I'm using work, when I take them away, my sound loses all the power that it DOES have. I have a feeling that I should totally tear out all my mixer inserts and start over, but where do I start? What steps should I take before applying compression, and where should I be applying it?

    I do so hate to ask these sorts of things, but at this point I've spent hours upon hours trying to figure it out, and I seem to be incapable of solving my issues with Google and elbow grease alone. :(

  16. http://dew-owns-it.com/oops/Dew%20-%20Lightning%20Striker%20v1.1.mp3

    I finally got a little bit of time to revisit this. Keeping the critique in mind, I messed with my amp settings and EQ a bit to try to produce something a little bit more desirable in the 200-500hz range. I'm not sure how much of a difference I made, as my intention was merely to fill that range in a bit so it wasn't quite as empty. Unfortunately, my guitars seem to sound terrible when said range is even slightly audible and I'm at a loss as to what else I could use to fill the gap. I also modified the ending, adding some synth and lead so the rhythm isn't all by its lonesome.

  17. is that sytrus' inferno preset? it reaaaaaally isn't doing you any favors. the guitar would sound a lot better by itself, imo. also, a lot of the slide notes are really discordant and it detracts from the mix a lot. those are probably the two biggest things i'd look into fixing.

    aside from that, your sound isn't terrible for what i imagine your setup looks like. what are you using for your rhythm guitar?

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